Saturday, January 8, 2011

The sixth seed New York Jets have the third seed Indianapolis Colts on a game-winning field goal by kicker Nick Folk as time expired earlier this evening. The Jets are now heading to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots; the home team wonboth match ups when these two division rivals met during the regular season.

New York's revitalized defense better prepare for Tom Brady, while Sanchez and company prepare for New England's stubbornly tough defense machine.

The 7-9 Seahawks, a team that had the worst record for a playoff team in NFL history, has defeated the defending world champion Saints, 41-36. Matt Hasselbeck led his Seahawks with a career day, throwing four touchdowns. Unbelievable.

Here is a list of books that the assassin Jared Lee Laughner listed on MySpace as his favorite books:

Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Wizard Of OZ, Aesop Fables, The Odyssey, Alice Adventures Into Wonderland, Fahrenheit 451, Peter Pan, To Kill A Mockingbird, We The Living, Phantom Toll Booth, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Pulp,Through The Looking Glass, The Communist Manifesto, Siddhartha, The Old Man And The Sea, Gulliver’s Travels, Mein Kampf, The Republic, and Meno.

For more news on Jared Laughner and his attempted assassination of Rep. Giffords,click here.

There is a Youtube channel from Jared Lee Loughner, the man identified in the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. What is on it is absolutely crazy. I will not link to the channel, but I will sum up the opinions expressed in the Youtube channel.

1. We should go back to a currency based on gold and silver.

2. The government is actively involved in mind control and brainwashing.

3. All education is unconstitutional.

Also, he listed a couple of his favorite books as Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto.

Lastly, I want to express my thoughts and prayers to the victims of today's attack. Please bookmark!

Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head this morning in Tucson, Arizona. She is currently in a hospital in Arizona undergoing surgery. We're all praying for her here atPundit Press; this violence just cannot stand in America and the assassin must face the death penalty for his deadly attack on Congress.

So who is Congresswoman Giffords?

Personal:

She married Mark E. Kelly, a current U.S. Navy Captainandastronaut, in November of 2007. She is Arizona's first ever Jewish Congresswoman, she attends the Congregation Chaverim in Tucson, and she is an avid reader. It appears that Congresswoman Giffords is also the mother of two children.

Electoral:

Elected to the Arizona House in November 2000 - served for one term.
Elected to the Arizona Senate in November 2002 - served for two terms.
Elected to the United States House in November 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Update: BoyBlue has made several comments on DailyKos today, including that he was "gonna go" to the rally today. This means that it is unlikely that he shot Giffords.

Update: Fox News is identifying the suspect in the Representative Gabrielle Giffords shooting as a 22-year-old male named Jared Laughner.

Today, House Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head while holding a public event in Tucson, Arizona. Another eleven were also shot; Giffords was reportedly shot at "point blank range." Giffords and those shot were then rushed to the hospital.

In the shot term, with few answers out there, the major question arises: who shot Representative Giffords and why? One startling possibility: an angry Daily Kos reader named "BoyBlue" may be behind the shooting.

In a diary written just two days ago, BoyBlue wrote a diary exclaiming that Rep. Giffords was "DEAD to me!" The headline was followed by a rambling diary that contained a passage in which BoyBlue stated that he "shot [himself] in the mouth in a serious suicide attempt" after his same-sex partner left him.

BoyBlue then went on a diatribe against Giffords, writing (with language cleaned up):

"Today, just a little while ago, I saw on Andrea Mitchell Reports (out of the one eye in can still see out of) that Giffords voted AGAINST Nancy Pelosi as our Minority Leader. Rhetorical question: I fought back from my condition and jumped in with both feet to help Gabrielle Giffords for THIS s**t???"

In other previous posts, BoyBlue rambled about his life as well. One exclaimed that he was leaving Daily Kos because it had turned "centrist." In the same post, BoyBlue exclaimed (once again, with language cleaned up): "Ask yourselves, "How 'progressive' is it to be f**king-over the ONE MAN who is fighting for "us" and one of our own steadfast allies? No good deed goes unpunished, I guess."

Breaking: House Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head while holding a public event in Tucson. Another eleven were also shot; Giffords was reportedly shot at "point blank range."

The gunman is in custody.

Giffords

Update: Unfortunately, it is now being reported that Mrs. Giffords has died.

Update (2:25pm): It is now being reported that four more people have died, including a child.

Update (2:30pm): Fox News is now reporting that the assassin was a lone gunman who was shot and tackled as he attempted to flee.

Update (2:53): Fox News is now reporting that Giffords may still be alive.

Breaking: House Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head while holding a public event in Tucson. Another eleven were also shot; Giffords was reportedly shot at "point blank range."

The gunman is in custody.

Update: Unfortunately, it is now being reported that Mrs. Giffords has died.

Update (2:25pm): It is now being reported that four more people have died, including a child.

Here's good 'ol crazy Harry Reid assuring everyone that the Tea Party "will disappear," so long as the economy gets better. And Reid, of course, believe that under the Democrats rule, the economy is bound to get better. In other words, not only will the Tea Party disappear, but the Democrats will slay it. Enter the mind of a mad man:

There were two reasons for the election of President Obama.One, after one and a half terms of Bush the Younger, and a Republican shopaholic Congress and half a term with a Democratic shopaholic Congress people were desperate for change.And two, the economy hit a speed bump in September of 2008.Candidate Obama promised to control spending so our free economy could create new jobs.President Obama has so far delivered the greatest spending binge in world history.

Since his election, as the economy languished, the American people from across the political spectrum have sought leadership in the quest for a recovery.And what has been the response of our Progressive President and his Progressive-dominated Congress?Constant promises to focus on job creation to cover the enactment of a radical agenda designed to transform America.

In January 2009, seven days after taking office, President Obama gave his first state of the Union speech.In this speech, after detailing how deep the Recession had become he said, “That is why jobs must be our number one focus in 2010, and that is why I am calling for a new jobs bill tonight,” and “People are out of work. They are hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay.”

In February of 2009 while some Progressive legislators were applauding President Obama for his focus on jobs others were petitioning him to actually focus on jobs.

By May of 2009 President Obama’s jobs deficit, which is the range between what has been promised and what has been delivered, reached 6.2 million and was growing by over 500,000 a month.Holding a series of Jobs Summits at the White House the President continued to promise he was going to focus on jobs.By October of 2010 the administration’s jobs deficit stood at 7.6 million.

In July of 2009 the promise by the President was for a focus on job creation.And while Progressive think tanks such as the Economic Policy Institute lauded him for his focus on jobs, in December of 2009 Mr. Obama had to once again promise to turn his focus on jobs since the unemployment rate was stuck at over 9%.

In January of 2010 President Obama in his second State of the Union Address promised to renew his focus on job creation.Also in January of 2010 the President announced he would spend billions to create green jobs even though no one is quite sure what constitutes a green job and they are projected to cost over 135,000 dollars apiece.In addition, these are temporary jobs and many of them would be overseas?

By March of 2010 the President’s advisers were predicting an extended period of high unemployment.Also in March of 2010 the President announced a multi-billion dollar bill to create jobs in small businesses. In April of 2010 the President promised to turn his focus on job creation. By September of 2010 some of the President’s key economic backers as well as over 300 economists were pleading with him to focus on jobs.In December of 2010 The President announced that our economy is past the crisis point and that now it’s time to focus on jobs.

What has President Obama accomplished in almost two years in office?One site proudly lists 100 accomplishments.Another site lists 90 accomplishments.An abbreviated list of nine is readily available. Another complains he is not getting credit for all he has done and lists the eight they feel are especially noteworthy.Another site lists seven.

Taking the opportunity of one of his rare press conferences to remind everyone, “I am President,” he went on to list his latest lame-duck accomplishments, including passing the tax compromise package, ratifying the START nuclear disarmament pact with Russia, and repealing the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.He took the opportunity of reviewing his recent accomplishments to place these bi-partisan legislative victories in the context of November’s election saying, “in the wake of the November elections that we have the capacity not only to make progress, but to make progress together.”Is this the progress you voted for?

Though all these accomplishments have gone a long way in fundamentally transforming America, with the current unemployment rate frozen at over 9 % it’s hard to say they‘ve created any jobs.Perhaps it’s time to tell a President whose only private sector job made him feel as if he was behind enemy lines that except for more bureaucrats and make-work temporary positions government can’t create jobs.At best it can create an atmosphere of freedom and then get out of the way.

We cannot borrow our way to prosperity.We cannot tax ourselves to solvency.And we cannot take one hundred dollars from a productive taxpayer, siphon off fifty dollars in handling fees, pay fifty dollars to a make-work employee and call that a job at least not outside the beltway in the real world.Quit trying to remake America.Quit taxing and regulating business to a standstill.Let freedom ring, and then perhaps you’ll learn where real jobs come from: free enterprise.

Friday, January 7, 2011

In a recent post I commented on the position Dennis Miller puts himself in when casting a jaundiced, realistic viewpoint regarding radical islam. I applaud him for his courage and honesty. If you haven't seen his skewering of radical islam and "Pelosi Galore" you should really take the time.

In the same vane the boyz at Hillbuzz call out conservative activists to freely antagonize the "religion of peace" with ridicule. They rightly note that political ridicule flows one way.

Ridicule is the Left’s best and most effecti

ve weapon. It was one of the most powerful commands Saul Alinksy issued to his acolytes, telling them to employ ridicule gen

erously against all opponents because the laughter it brings weakens them and deligitimze

anything they stand for.

It is astounding to me that there is so much courage in this openly gay enclave. I am humbled reassured by it and welco

me them into the conservative movement. I noted that Dennis Miller was virtually guaranteed a fatwa for his troubles. This remains to be seen, but Hillbuzz is already drawing the scrutiny of al Jazeera .

Apparently, the mi

sunderstood, "CAIR Bears of Islam” pieces we run here at HillBuzz have gotten the attention of Al Jazeera, and the cartoon above, in particular, upsets them because the Western media at large is terrified of using ridicule and satire to mock Islam (which is not a religion, but a militarized ideological cult created by a deranged and opportunistic pedophile to subject the world to Arab domination by way of his violent manifesto calling for the conquest and enslavement of the globe…that’s Islam, not the mythical “religion of peace” the Left keeps talking about).

Here's to Solidarity! Cheers to ridicule!

Remember: Muslims can’t murder all of their critics. The only way Islam wins is if you capitulate and surrender to it. The best offense against Islam is to compile a running tally of how much “peace” this militarized ideological cult actually commits while masking as an actual religion.

6. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim males mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

7. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davey Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim males mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

11. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim males mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

12. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Jasmine Guy
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim males mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

13. October 12th 2000, the USS Cole was rammed with a boat full of explosives off the coast of Yemen — killing 17 American sailors and injuring 39 others — by:
a. Emanuel Lewis
b. Josie & the Pussycats
c. A drag queen impersonating Margaret Thatcher
d. Muslim males mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

14. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr. Bean
d. Muslim males mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

15. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim males mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

18. On May 1st 2010, a crude car bomb made from gasoline, propane, fireworks, and alarm clocks was rigged to explode in Times Square by:
a. Sigmund the Sea Monster
b. Fran Eaton, Editor of the Illinois Review
c. Mumm-Ra the Everliving
d. Muslim male between the ages of 17 and 40

19. Federal agents prevented SOMEONE from blowing up a Christmas tree lighting ceremony and murdering dozens of people in Oregon in December 2010. Who was the would-be bomber?

(a) A five year old boy

(b) An 80-year old nun

(c) A businessman on his way to a convention

(d) A Muslim male between the ages of 17-40

20. In Sydney, Australia SOMEONE went berserk behind the counter of a KFC restaurant when a customer asked to add bacon to his chicken sandwich (in a KFC restaurant that advertised the availability of adding bacon to its chicken sandwiches). That berserker was:

(a) Former American Idol judge Paula Abdul

(b) Mizz Beasley, former First Dog of the United States

(c) Boystown drag queen Teri Yaki

(d) A muslim male between the ages of 17-40

21. Less than a half hour into the New Year of 2011, SOMEONE set off a bomb outside of a Coptic Christian Church in Egypt just as mass was letting out. In the chaos afterward, SOME people were stomping on exploded body parts of the murdered dead in the streets while cheering:

Bonus Question:
Who bombed that Church in Egypt on New Year’s 2011, deliberately killing Christians simply because they are Christians?
(a) The “Juice”
(b) Buddhists
(c) Wiccans
(d) Muslim males between the ages of 17 and 40

22. On November 2, 2004, who murdered Theo Van Gogh for producing the film Submission, which was critical of the treatment of women in Islam, by shooting him eight times, attempting to decapitate him, and then left two knives implanted in his torso, one attaching a five-page note that threatened Western countries, Jews and Ayaan Hirsi Ali?
(a) An Amish youth on Rumspringa
(b) A Tea Partier
(c) Roger Ebert, who felt Submission lacked a proper story arc
(d) A Muslim male between the ages of 17-40

23. On June 30, 2007, who drove a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set it ablaze while screaming “Allah!”?
(a) Two Jehova’s Witnesses who felt this would be more effective than going house to house
(b) Two disgruntled baggage handlers
(c) Al Cowlings and OJ Simpson (no wait, that was a white Bronco)
(d) Two Muslim males between the ages of 17-40

Nancy Pelosi is crazy, we all know that. However, I don't think anyone thought she was this crazy:

I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone of this, but Pelosi did not just happen to come to power when President Obama was elected. So her argument that it was all the "last administration's" fault already is made moot. But let's go a little further.

Under President Bush, unemployment was, on average, around 5-6%. Only after Democrats won the House and Senate did unemployment balloon over this. And guess who was the Speaker of the House for the Democrats. You guessed it, none other than Pelosi herself.

Let's go even further. When President Bush left office, unemployment was slightly over 8%. President Obama promised that if the Democratic controlled Congress passed the Stimulus bill, that unemployment would stop rising. So the Stimulus was passed, with tacit approval by, once again, Nancy Pelosi. What happened? Unemployment shot up again.

Let's go deeper still. When Republicans were elected in a landslide this past November, what was the reasoning that average citizens gave for voting Dems out? People were tired of overspending, higher taxes, and poor administration. Did you notice how there was no mention of "Bush was evil?" That's because Bush had been out of office for almost two years by then.

All this points to one thing that we all know already: Pelosi's full of it. It also shows why Democrats were voted out in the first place: they cannot accept truth and blindly blame everyone else for problems they caused.

According to the Associated Press:1,400 additional Marines are heading to Afghanistan over the next few weeks. The reinforcements are heading to areas in the vital Southern Provinces where United States and Coalition forces made significant gains over the previous summer. It would be foolhardy of me not to mention that our gains are still fragile, and must be secured at all possible costs in both blood and treasure.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who will soon be leaving the Pentagon, approved of the mini-troop surge on Wednesday. This increase in US Marine presence will probably coincide with the well received rise of the fierce M1A1 Abrams Tankin Afghanistan's volatile Helmand Province. Both are signs that despite President Obama's July deadline, this important War is far from over.

New job numbers were released today, showing that the United States private sector created 113,000 jobs in the last month. Unemployment also dipped to 9.4%. Yet the bad news outweighs the good.

The jobs created were more than 70,000 less than what experts were expecting. Government employment fell by 10,000. And possibly the worst: many of the jobs gained could very well be temporary Christmas Season jobs, in which employers hire people short-term to keep up with extra customers and demand.

Even the exceedingly liberal and pro-Obama Administration New York Times was tepid in its praise, writing that the news only "slightly" helped the private sector. In fact, the NYT even brought attention to the fact that unemployment fell the way it did only because "the civilian labor force declined by 260,000 in December, as many Americans stopped applying for jobs."

The video that made the formerly homeless man Ted Williams famous is no longer available on YouTube because of an apparent copyright claim by lawyers in Ohio called "Zeiger and Tigges." Here is their website. It is unknown whether this is because Mr. Williams requested it be taken down, or for another, unknown reason.

Here is the video. If you click on it, you will get a "copyright claim" warning:

Update (1/7/11): The copyright claim is now by "The Dispatch," a newspaper apparently situated in Ohio. It seems odd to me that they'd want the video taken down considering the exposer and good press they're getting from it, but hey, their choice I guess.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Officially, of course, this is coming from the Defense Department-- but of course their boss is President Obama, so it's unofficially from him.

So you remember in the 2008 campaign when candidate Obama would say that he was really the one stronger on defense-- stronger than a POW war hero? When he said that he would increase the size of the military to reduce stress on military personnel and their families? Well-- he's decided that this is the time to break that promise to save some money that could have been cut elsewhere in the budget.

A clearly sad-faced Defense Secretary Robert Gates has announced that the size of the active-duty United States Army and Marine Corps would be cut by 2015 in a cost-cutting measure. Naturally, most people should be happy that the government is trying to save some cash, but it would appear that the move is unnecessary. Simply keeping the armed forces the same size would save money that is already allocated for increasing the size of active-duty servicemen and women and would also reduce recruitment efforts and bonuses. Furthermore, reductions in the size of the reserves (which would not be a good option, either), would make more sense than reducing those ready to respond to a crisis.

Of course, the thinking goes that the United States would be out of Iraq and Afghanistan by then. The logic of leaving the latter has not yet been confirmed, and even if true, there could be other potential problems in places like North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, Turkey-- that could require US presence. Not to mention the fact that active-duty personnel could also be needed for natural disasters in our country and abroad.

At a time of "extreme fiscal duress," he said, "every dollar spent on excess overhead or unneeded programs . . . is a dollar not available to support our troops" or to deal with future threats.
"We must come to realize that not every defense program is necessary, not every defense dollar is sacred or well-spent, and more of everything is simply not sustainable," Gates said.

I do have sympathy for Secretary Gates, who is making the best of a bad situation. However, reducing our capabilities to defend ourselves is not worth the savings. Take the $78 billion from the leftover stimulus funds yet to be disbursed or from the 2014 start of the ObamaCare proviso. That would make more sense and would save more money and from more regulation and waste.

Do you remember just a few short years ago during the "Bush regime" when it was a matter of pride for some people to pull out of the Whole Foods parking lot with their SUV with a big fat W with a line through it and a sticker that read "Proud to be a DEMOCRAT"? Well, there are still self-righteous folks like that, of course, but it appears that their numbers have thinned as a little more sanity has returned to American politics.

The number of self-described Democrats has hit a 22-year low after the debacle of ObamaCare and the 2010 midterm elections, according to Gallup polling. In just 2008 the Democrats had a 35-28% advantage over Republicans-- more and more young people and independents appeared to be switching parties.

Graph: Gallup Polling

Now that gap has shrunk to 31-29-- and according to Rasmussen's similar polling, Republicans now outnumber Democrats. In addition, if you take a look at party ID/leaning ID-- Democrats enjoyed a 52-40 advantage in 2008. That former 12-point gap is now 45-44% in favor of the Democrats.

The type of story that just makes you want to vomit profusely. Just after the death of his cancer-stricken ex-wife, former Senator and current disgrace John Edwards, may have decided to "settle down" again. The reports indicate that Edwards has decided to marry his mistress Rielle Hunter, whom he cheated on his dying wife Elizabeth with while he was running for President in 2008.

Congressional Republicans are preparing for the battle in the legislature that could set the tone for the next two years. The 112th Congress is considering a bill that would totally repeal the ObamaCare provisions signed into law last year. Most of the items in the bill will not come into effect until 2014. The vote is expected on Wednesday, January 12.

“Most Americans don’t like the health care bill,” Cantor explained on CBS. “They know that there’s a better way. And we have committed to the people that have elected us to begin to work together across partisan lines to try and effect change that will actually improve the lives and deliver results for more Americans.”

The repeal bill is not expected to pass but has a fair chance of placing attention back to the new entitlement boondoggle created by the Obama Administration last year.

The video that made the formerly homeless man Ted Williams famous is no longer available on YouTube because of an apparent copyright claim by lawyers in Ohio called "Zeiger and Tigges." Here is their website. It is unknown whether this is because Mr. Williams requested it be taken down, or for another, unknown reason.

Here is the video. If you click on it, you will get a "copyright claim" warning:

After taking control of the House of Representatives, Republicans decided to read the entirety of the Constitution out loud. Many conservatives see this as a masterstroke, showing that the new Republican leadership realizes who they answer to and where their power comes from. Many liberals are calling it "racist" and a political stunt. Yahoo! was quick to publish a video in which it proclaims reading the Constitution both a "political stunt" and "serious endeavour" at the same time.

So the question is this: what is it, exactly? Are the liberals right? Or are the conservatives right? Vote below and tell us what you think:

Political experts expected the 2012 Presidential race to begin sometime this Spring, because all the leading Republican candidates - Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty and Mitch Daniels - all swore off announcing their intentions until later this year. However, one candidate, who is often ignored and overlooked by the press, has made his first move in New Hampshire, and with that the 2012 Presidential election.

Former United States Senator Rick Santorum, who raised over $2.6 million for his Conservative political action committee during the 2009-10 election cycle, has hired longtime New Hampshire Republican strategist Mike Biundo to be the state director for his soon-to-be very active PAC - America's Foundation. None of the other potential candidates have made such a move to this point.

In November's election Senator Rick Santorum contributed $3,000 to New Hampshire Republicans Kelly Ayotte and Frank Guinta in their own successful campaigns. He is scheduled to appear with Ovide Lamontagne, a Conservative activist who almost defeated Ayotte in the state's tight GOP Primary, to launch the Granite Oath PAC next week; the appearance will mark his eighth trip to the state.

Santorum might not be among the "top-tier candidates" for the Nomination, but he's definitely in the running for the Nomination, and making all the right moves before everyone else in the state Primary where Presidential front runners go to die. Also, Senator Santorum's official website has nothing but 2012 Presidential news reports.